The Other Mask
by redpetal888
Summary: He hadnt seen her in over 100 years. Ever since her spirit was sealed within the 1st hokage's body. But when she is released, what happens? At first, nothing. But then she runs. Among other things. triangle MadaraxOC, Hashirama 1st hokage xOC.Flashbacks.
1. Chapter 1

'Shiko' -thought "Shiko"-speaking or unsureity (for example, so-called "Tobi")  
>*Shiko*-flashback<p>Madara was pacing around the cave, his impatient footsteps making a loud echo throughout the walls. He was waiting. Waiting for his love, waiting for her to be safe.<br>How, or why? You might ask. Its a long story. For now, its only the time to say that who he was waiting for was someone of great importance to him.  
>As was said before however, now isnt the time to explain.<br>Madara growled under his breath, his nerves becoming increasingly worried by every approaching second.  
>He turned to the "leader" of the Akatsuki, know as Pein.<br>"Well? How long is it going to take?" He asked in a demanding tone.  
>Peins eyes moved acrosse from where they were standing to the jutsu that was being used to exract a certain spirit from Captain Yamato, who was currently unconcious and sprawled face-first across the floor. His eyes then shifted back to Madara, whose face was exposed due to the fact he had taken his mask off.<br>"It's unclear," Pein finally answered. "Not much of the first hokage's DNA is inside Yamato, that is going to extend the extraction time significantly."  
>Madara growled again and left the room, putting his mask on as he walked out the cave entrance and into the courtyard of the Akatsuki hideout.<br>He half stomped all the way inside of the main building, and passed the living room and the kitchen, headed towards his room at the end of the hall.  
>As soon as he opened the door to his room, he locked the door so no one could get in and took off his mask.<br>He sighed, and laid down on his back, faceing the ceiling of the room with his arms crossed behind his head.  
>He silently wondered why Pein hadnt grasped the importance of this extraction-this particular extraction of the spirit. As his thoughts drifted towards the one whose spirit was being extracted, a name escaped his lips. "Shiko," he whispered.<br>She had been his sensei, his friend, and his love... And yet he had let this happen to her...  
>"No...Why...WHY!" he shouted to himself, not caring if the other members of the Akatsuki heard him, which incidentally, they didnt.<br>After Madara had calmed himself down, he closed his eyes, and allowed his thoughts to take him back to when he had met Shiko for the first time, 111 years ago...  
>*He had taken the form of a small, injured black kitten. It was for a mission-Infiltrate the Senju clan by being taken in as an injured animal.<br>But, it didnt go exactly as planned. As the small kitten, he had managed to find one of the large buildings in the Senju clan base, and stood mewing and yowling pitifully to attract attention from anyone who might have been kindhearted enough to help.  
>At last, the door to the building opened but the one who came out of it was not even remotely close to what Madara would have expected.<br>The door had opened to reveal two 14-year old girls. The first one looked relatively normal for those of the Senju clan-Long brown hair, slightly tanned skin, and cobalt-blue eyes. It was the second one that was unexpected. She had pale skin, white hair, and the most un-senju trait of all-she had a permanent Sharingan!  
>The one with Sharingan said to the brown-haired girl,"Kenna, look, it's an adorable kitten! And look, he's wounded! Come on, we just have to help him,"<br>The one called Kenna sighed. "Shiko...Sometimes you can be too sweet for your own good, you know that? But not this time. I agree with you about this kitten."  
>Madara was just standing there in shock. There was an Uchiha...In the Senju clan...*<br>Madara grinned, remembering that first encounter with Shiko so long ago.. He jumped off of his bed and put his mask back on, bent on at least trying to have a good time while he was stuck in this situation waiting for Shiko.  
>One of the fun things about being "Tobi" was that he got to drive the other members (particularly Deidara) up a wall. This amused him greatly.<br>He decided to go and see what he could do to make Deidara's day a bit more miserable.  
>Deidara was sitting on the couch, watching TV along with Kisame, and Sasori. Yuri, Rina, and Sheena, the three newest members, were sitting on the floor, also watching TV.<br>Madara, now in his Tobi personality, approached them and sat right down next to Yuri. "Hello Yuri-chan," he said in his child-like voice.  
>"Oh...um...hey, Tobi," she responded. Yuri was usually a calm person, and didnt get as mad at Tobi as the other members of the Akatsuki did, and also would help him if the other members got too "Spirited" in destroying him.<br>However, even Yuri had her moments when she would try and murder Tobi. But that was only if Tobi touched her sword.  
>But in any case, annoying Yuri was not the reason he had come here. Yuri was involved, though.<br>"Yuri-chan, what do you think of senpai?" Tobi asked, getting the attention of both Yuri and Deidara.  
>Kisame, Sasori, Rina, and Sheena had seen where this was going, and left the room to avoid getting in the way of one of Deidara and Tobi's more violent fights.<br>Yuri just stayed there.  
>"Well Tobi, Deidara is my best friend here in the Akatsuki," she replied.<br>Tobi, playing innocent, said ,"But Tobi thought Itachi was your best friend. You always spend time with eachother, and sometimes are just alone together...sometimes Tobi hears strange noises coming through the wall. Do you play tag?"  
>Yuri, her face heating up and eye twitching in annoyance at the same time answered, "Thats none of your buisness, Tobi."<br>Tobi fake cried and went to Deidara. "SENPAI! YURI-CHAN IS BEING MEAN TO TOBI!" he wailed.  
>"Go away, un" was Deidara's response.<br>It was well known throughout the Akatsuki that Deidara was in love with Yuri, but never tried to be with her because Yuri loved Itachi. And vice-versa. And he would be damned before he would stop trying to be her friend, in hopes that some day she would love him back. But that would never happen.  
>And Deidara was pissed off that Tobi was reminding him that he had lost Yuri to Itachi.<br>'Damn Tobi' he thought to himself.  
>"Senpai, why are you mad that Itachi-san and Yuri-chan are best friends too? Senpai, are you jealous?"<br>This made Yuri a bit uncomfortable, and also drove Deidara over the edge.  
>"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP UN, OK!" He yelled.<br>"Senpai, why are you so mad when Itachi-"  
>"THATS IT UN!" Deidara yelled again. This time, he pulled out some of his clay bombs and threw them at tobi, who ran down the hall screaming, "I'M SORRY SENPAI FOR SAYING THAT YOUR JEALOUS OF ITACHI!"<br>He then dove into his room for cover, and locked the door.  
>He heard Deidara banging on the door and threatening him to get him to open it but he just sat there on his bed. He took off his mask and watched the door with an amused face, listening to Deidara's various shouts of "I'M GONNA KILL YOU UN!" and such.<br>When Deidara had left, "Tobi" burst out laughing, his personality shifting back to Madara.  
>He grinned. 'Well, that was entertaining,' he thought.<br>A few minutes later, there was a knock on his door. The said person managed to open the door and get in, even though it had been locked.  
>Madara's face twisted into a glare. "What is it, Pein," he asked. "It's Shiko," Pein replied. "The extraction is finished." <p>


	2. Chapter 2

Madara was instantly teleporting back to the cave used for the extraction.  
>There, besides Yamato, on her hands and knees, was the female known as Shiko Uchiha.<br>Her eyes looked up at Pein for a second, and then back at Madara, who still had his Tobi mask on.

Her eyes then closed, and her body went limp.  
>Madara caught her before her body hit the ground, and carried her on his back to the medical room used in the Akatsuki.<br>He set her unconcious body down on the bed, and watched her with affection in his eyes.

He heard the door open, and jumped away from Shiko, his muscles tensing. The one who had entered was Rina.  
>He immediatly relaxed. "Rina," he whispered.<p>

"Yes Madara-sensei?" she asked.

Yes, Rina knew full-well who he was. In fact, it was because of who he was that she joined the Akatsuki in the first place.

It had started out when she was learning to master her Sharingan in Konoha, the Hidden Leaf village. As a tradition, she had also learned about the clan's history and of course, Madara.  
>But her opinion had differed from most of the villagers. She had seen him as an idol, a role model, and had begun to detest the other Uchiha for shunning him.<br>Madara, who had been observing this in secret, decided to take Rina Uchiha under his wing, as a student.  
>Rina, when she was asked his offer, immedeiatly agreed, and left the village with him.<p>

After a few years of private training, he asked her to join the Akatsuki, and told her he would also be there, undercover as "Tobi".  
>Now, she was standing before him with a worried look on her face.<br>"Could you get Yuri and Sheena, please Rina?" Madara asked. Rina's face twisted into a confused expression, but she headed off to find Yuri and Sheena.

It was rare that Madara Uchiha would ask something, rather than demand. And not only had he asked, but he had said please!  
>She hurried off as fast as she could.<p>

Meanwhile, Madara was gazing at the unconcious figure of Shiko once more.  
>Her long, snow-white hair was a mirror opposite of his own short, spiky black hair.<br>She hadnt changed much over the 105 years her spirit had been sealed away. And Madara knew about the other features, that weren't outwardly visible-He knew that if you opened her eyes, you would see the red orbs of her permanent sharingan, and if you opened her mouth, you would see her sharp, vampire-like fangs.

He smiled.

Seeing her in this state brought his memories back, one in particular, only a week after they met...

* The black kitten whom Shiko and Kenna had recently adopted was now lounging on Shiko's stomach, who was sprawled on her back across her bed.  
>Madara had been surprised as to how easy it had been to infiltrate the Senju clan as this kitten-and he had grown a liking to WHO he was staying with.<br>He was allowed to stay with Shiko, in the large room that she had in the Main House.  
>As it turns out, Shiko had been adopted at the age of 5, being an orphan. Another fact that turned out interesting, it was Akira Senju who had adopted her-and HE was the clan head.<br>So, Madara had a window into the most important people in the Senju clan, AND he got to stay with an Uchiha rather than a Senju! Shiko pet Madara's soft head. "Oh, Shade," she whispered. "Sometimes I think you're the only one who listens to me around here-other than Kenna and Hashirama."  
>Shade was what Shiko had decided to call the black kitten, and Madara, not wanting to blow his cover, went along with it willingly.<br>He mewed and purred. He now understood why cats liked to be pet, and scratched behind their ears-because it just felt so damn good...  
>After a while, Shiko stopped petting "shade" and fell asleep, her warm stomach rising and falling slowly to her even breaths.<br>Shade just watched her. Something about her made him very curious about her, and some other things.  
>One of the Sons of the Head of the clan always seemed to be near her. 'What was his name?" Madara thought to himself. 'Oh yeah...Hashirama...'<br>Hashirama seemed interested in her as well...a little TOO interested in her...he didnt like it.  
>The thought of Hashirama and Shiko being together, for some reason, erupted rage inside him. He wanted to rip Hashirama's very soul from his body.<br>The thing was though...why was he so against it? Why DID he care about who Shiko loved? He didnt understand, and didnt like being in the dark.*

Madara shook his head to clear the memories from his mind. He grinned at the ignorant person he used to be, wishing that he had been even a little more inferring than he had been.  
>At that moment, Rina came back into the room, along with Sheena and Yuri.<br>Yuri was a medical ninja, and she had the byakuguan from her mother. The funny thing about it was that she didnt look anything like a Hyuuga. Yuri had long blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. All of her looks came from her father.  
>Yuri activated her byakuguan and took a look at Shiko, searching for any health complications that might have come from the extraction. As soon as she did, her eyes widened a little bit.<p>

"Tobi," she whispered. "There's a problem."  
> <p>


	3. Chapter 3

(Me: I'm going to start saying people's names the Japanese style, last name, then first name. Just a note so its not confusing in the future.-Shiko's full name will be said: Uchiha Shiko. Mmmkay, glad I got that cleared up)

Tobi's expression changed under his mask, but was not visible to the others.  
>"Wh-what do you mean something's wrong, Yuri-chan?" he asked in his Tobi voice, feeling very panicked.<br>Yuri squinted, analyzing Shiko again.  
>"It's kind of complicated, Tobi," she said. "First, from the extraction, Shiko's chakra level is dangerously low. It also appears that a strange energy, probably from the extraction as well, is formed in her brain. Her temperature is also much higher than it should be-she's burning with fever.<br>Madara struggled to keep his voice from changing from his "Tobi" pitch, the worrying about Shiko sending him into a frantic state.  
>"YURI-CHAAAAAN!" He wailed. "PLEASE MAKE SURE SHIKO-CHAN IS ALRIGHT!" With that, no longer being able to take the sight of Shiko without loosing his cover, he rushed out of the room, heading over to the cave where captain Yamato was still lying unconious.<br>Yuri and Sheena quickly rushed to help Shiko. Sheena was donating some of her chakra to Shiko, to help with the low chakra levels inside of her body. Yuri put a cold, wet cloth on Shiko's head, and used her second Kekkei-Genkai, other than the Byakuguan.  
>This one had come from her father, and was known as the Zenkai.<br>Yuri lifted up her hands, and as she did water was pulled out of the air, trailing behind them softly.  
>The water then started to glow, and Yuri manipulated it so that it touched Shiko's pressure points, gently cooling, healing, and putting chakra into these areas.<br>Rina was gently putting an IV needle into Shiko's arm.  
>About an hour later, the trio had managed to get Shiko into a stable condition, at least, for now.<p>

Sheena still looked worried about Shiko, and it was for more reason than one.  
>You might never guess it without seeing both Sheena and Shiko, but there was a special bond between the two of them.<br>You see, Sheena was Shiko's sister. Identical twin, to be more precise.  
>They shared all the same traits-long, white hair, pale skin, vampire-like fangs-except for one-the permanent Sharingan that Shiko had been born with.<br>Now, you might ask. How is Sheena still alive?  
>When Shiko and Sheena were 18 years old, a clan that specialized in medical jutsu had captured and experimented on a Jutsu that was supposed to make it's user immortal. It worked-partially.<br>Shiko and Sheena never aged a day after that.  
>Yuri and Rina noticed how Sheena was unusually quiet, something that was very rare for her.<br>When they were finished tending to Shiko's needs at the moment, all three of them walked into the courtyard of the hideout to get some fresh air.  
>Again, Yuri and Rina noticed how unusually quiet Sheena was being.<br>They stood in the middle of the courtyard, loungeing before a huge sakura blossom tree. The air was not moved by any sort of conversation, they just relaxed, in total silence. It remained that way for a few minutes.  
>At last, the silence was broken by Sheena, whose eyes were filled with usually unpresent emotion.<br>"It's been a hundred and five years," she whispered. "105 years since I've seen my sister, Uchiha Shiko."  
>Yuri looked at her sympathetically. "What is she like?" she asked, curious about Shiko, but not wanting to accidentally hurt her feelings somehow.<br>Sheena grinned. "Well, she had a bit of personality changes throughout her life...I think mainly because of Uchiha Madara. Supposedly, she died in battle trying to save him before he died." She paused, before adding, "Sadly, her efforts were in vain...Madara was still killed in battle by Senju Hashirama, the first hokage."

"Wow, she must have been very devoted," Yuri murmered.  
>Sheena shook her head. "She was...but I don't think Madara deserved her."<br>"But anyways, she gets a second chance at life now," Sheena added.  
>"Anyways, if you want to know about Shiko personality-wise, I have to tell you, she had a rather split personality. She was very kind, and gentle, but if you awakened her 'dark' side, she could put you through hell. She was also very protective, and wise."<br>"Sounds a little bit like Zetsu, with his two sides," Rina said, earning a laugh from Sheena and Yuri.  
>"Yeah, I guess," replied Sheena, giggling.<br>As she opened her mouth to say more, Tobi suddenly came running towards them, yelling, "SHIKO-CHAN'S AWAKE! SHE'S AWAKE! Quick, follow Tobi to Shiko's room!"  
>Yuri, Rina, and Sheena quickly sprang up from their sitting positions around the Sakura tree and made their way to the room where Shiko was.<br>Sure enough, her eyes were starting to open and close slowly, and her breathing became more regular.  
>Yuri, examining Shiko's health again, shone a medical flashlight into her eyes.<br>After a few seconds of this, Shiko's eyes closed, and she spoke for the first time since her spirit had been freed.  
>"Get...the fucking light...out...of my face..." she rasped, her voice barely audible.<br>Under his mask, Madara grinned. After 105 years of being sealed away, the first thing Shiko had said was to get the examiner's light out of her face, in a rather rude way too. Well, that just showed, her personality had remained with her for all those years.  
>After the others had left the room, Madara took off his mask, and stroke the face of the now-sleeping Shiko.<br>"Shiko," he whispered. "I'm here, Shiko."


	4. Chapter 4

Madara stayed where he was, stroking Shiko's hair.  
>After a few moments, he sighed.<br>'Shiko, you have no idea how much I missed you,' he thought.  
>The noise of the door to the room being opened made him quickly put his mask back on, and take his Tobi personality back.<br>The person who had entered the room was Yuri, who had come with another wet cloth to replace the one already on Shiko's forehead. When she saw Tobi, she smiled.  
>"Good, you're keeping her company then, Tobi?"<br>Tobi nodded his head in response. "Yes, Tobi is keeping Shiko-chan company because Tobi is a good boy!"  
>Yuri giggled a little bit before replacing the wet cloth on Shiko's forehead. Right before she headed out the door, she said, "Come get me if Shiko wakes up again, ok?"<br>Tobi nodded.  
>As soon as she was gone, Madara took off his mask again and looked at Shiko, all helpless and sick. It was a shock to him, how someone as strong and lively as Shiko had been could be reduced to this unconious, barely breathing state. In all of the time he had been with her before her spirit had been sealed, she had been so strong, nearly invincible...<br>In fact, there was a time when he had thought that nothing, absolutley nothing, could bring her down, whether it be a ninja, an illness...or anything really.  
>He looked at Shiko once more, and an odd memory filled his head...<br>* Shade the kitten had been with Shiko for about three months now, and had grown from a small, injured kitten, into an almost fully-grown cat.  
>Right now he was lounging on Shiko's bed, in the room, all alone. Shiko had gone on some kind of a trip out to a battlefield where there were many injured ninja, to help them with her medical jutsu.<br>So far, nothing eventful had happened that interested "Shade", so he had decided to take a catnap, and had been doing this all morning.  
>His light rest was interrupted by a knocking on the door. After a few moments, the door opened and in walked Hashirama.<br>"Shade" immediatley hissed.  
>Madara's disliking for Hashirama had only gotten stronger over time, so, naturally, Shade the cat would hate him too.<br>Hashirama glared at the black cat, wary that it might try to claw his eyes out...or injure him.  
>"Why do you always do that, hiss and show your teeth," he muttered. "Damn cat," he added under his breath.<br>This caused a growl to erupt from Shade's chest.  
>"What, you wanna fight me, cat," was Hashirama's reply.<br>He didnt look happy. "Look, I'm just looking for Shiko, I wanted to ask her if she would come with me to watch a fireworks show-"  
>He was interrupted by Shade lunging at him, claws out.<br>"AARGH!" Hashirama spluttered, running out of the room.  
>Shade followed him out, but didnt chase him past the second door in the hall. Inside, Madara was laughing so hard that if he wasnt in cat form, tears would have been streaming down his face.*<br>Madara grinned, remembering that.  
>A noise coming from Shiko stopped his inside laughter and made him focuse on her immediatley.<br>Her eyes had opened again, and she was staring at the ceiling.  
>Quickly putting on his Tobi mask, Madara rushed out of the room and ran through the base yelling "YURI-CHAN! COME QUICK! SHIKO-CHAN IS AWAKE AGAIN!"<br>The voice of Hidan sounded from down the hall. "JUST SHUT THE HELL UP TOBI! I'm trying to do a ritual to Jashin here," he groaned.  
>At last, Tobi had found Yuri and they had gotten back to the room with Shiko.<br>In the time that they had left, Shiko had been able to sit up, but was still very weak.  
>Yuri and "Tobi" stared into her red Sharingan eyes, a little bit shocked at how fast she had woken up again.<br>"Hello," Shiko murmered. "Who are you?"  
>"I'M TOBI!" yelled "Tobi", running up to her and hugging her.<br>After a second he let go and went back to Yuri.  
>Shiko's glance was now focused on the blonde girl who Tobi was standing next to.<br>"My name isYuri," she said.  
>Shiko's face lit up a bit, and she asked, "Can you please tell me where I am. And...more importantly, how many years has it been since I was sealed?"<br>Yuri nodded.  
>"It's been a long time...105 years..."<br>Shiko's eyes widened to the size of plates.  
>"HOLY COW! I'M AN OLD LADY NOW!" she squeaked.<br>'Oh my,' thought Yuri. 'I think she's going to get along with Tobi very well..'  
>Suddenly, Shiko's eyes narrowed. "Wait a second," she said. "If you know how long I've been sealed, then you know who I am, and what happened to me, and you must be the one who released me..."<br>"Not exactly..." replied Yuri.  
>"Well...anyway...THANKYOU!"<br>"You're welcome, I guess..." said Yuri.  
>Shiko grinned, and then held her stomach.<br>"You think...maybe...I could have something to eat?" she asked sheepishly.  
>Yuri nodded. "Sure," she said. "I can get you some dangos from the kitchen."<br>"Thanks," replied Shiko.  
>Tobi suddenly started jumping up and down. "CAN TOBI HAVE SOME DANGOS TOO? PLEASE! TOBI WILL BE A GOOD BOY!"<br>Yuri sighed, and nodded. "Yes Tobi, you can have some dangos too."  
>She then headed off towards the kitchen, hopeing that in the time she was gone Tobi wouldn't be killed for annoying Shiko too much. Meanwhile, Madara decided that he wouldn't reveal his identity, and that he would play along as Tobi to see how Shiko would react.<br>He decided to follow Yuri, to give Shiko a moment alone.  
>"Dont worry," he said. "Tobi is just going to check on the dangos..."<br>With that, he left the room to go find Yuri.  
>Shiko sat on the infirmary bed, thinking about the strange person "Tobi".<br>'Hmm...my Sharingan sensed the presence of another Sharingan under his mask, but he seems way too hyperactive and cheery to be of the Uchiha clan...I think he's hiding something,' She paused for a second. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'I'll find out later,' she added in her mind, cheerfully. 


	5. Chapter 5

**(Note: Shiko's Flashbacks will not be at the same timeline as most of Madara's...they are going to take place a long time after the timeline where Madara's flashbacks are... its after the formation of the leaf village, when Hashirama is the first hokage. You'll notice the difference in this chapter. I'm trying to clear this up for you. And remember, names are said in the Japanese-style (last name, first name). Also, Senta is another one of my OCs he is Madara and Izuna's older brother...)**

Shiko looked around the room once more, before deciding not to wait for Yuri and Tobi to get back with the dangos.  
>She tried to stand up, and almost immediatly fell back down.<p>

She sighed. One thing that was certain about Uchiha Shiko was that she didnt like being weak, or having to have others provide for her while she was in need of care.

Her thoughts then traveled back to before her spirit had been sealed, a much happier time...

***Shiko looked around the crowded streets of the newly-formed village, Konoha. She was sitting at the edge of the new hokage monument, where no one could hear, see, or disturb her. She liked to be here, to watch Konoha from a distance, it was quite...calming. The busy air of the village below her her seemed to fill the world with noise, lively-ness and at the same time, a comforting shroud of peace.  
>Her eyes closed. Then, she heard the all-too-familiar voice of a certain Uchiha.<br>"Shiko-sensei!" She turned and met the gaze of Madara.  
>"Yes?" She inquired, a bit confused. The reason she was confused was not because Madara had called her Sensei. She had left the Senju clan long ago, and had eventually made her way into the Uchiha clan, where she was very welcome. She had been chosen to be the sensei of Madara, Izuna, and their oldest brother, Senta, even though she was only a month older than Madara.<br>The reason why she was confused was that Madara was supposedly on a mission for the village, so why was he here? Madara grinned, knowing that the only reason Shiko wouldnt start yelling at him like she would if it was Izuna or Senta was because he was her favorite.  
>"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with the frill-necked lizzard jutsu...since I cant seem to pull it off..."<br>Shiko cocked an eyebrow, before scowling and snapping, "Madara! You should be on your mission, and you arent even supposed to be trying that jutsu! What do you have to say for yourself?"  
>Madara sighed. "Alright.. I'm sorry, Mom..." he replied sarcasticly.<br>"HEY! I dont look that old!" Shiko squeaked. "Really? Could have fooled me, with that white hair of yours..." said Madara playfully.  
>"SHUTUP!" Shiko yelled, tackling him to the ground.<br>Madara groaned, looking back up at her with half-closed eyes. He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up mischeviously.  
>"You know...Shiko-chan..." he started. "I know you probably didnt intend this, but i'm finding this position quite...arousing," he purred.<br>Shiko's eyes widened before squeaking. "PERV!" She half yelled. Although it was at his statement that she realized he was most likely telling the truth-she was on top of him, straddling his waist. 'I didnt mean to do that', she thought.  
>Suddenly, Madara moved, and flipped them over so he was on top, pinning her arms to the ground.<br>"Shiko-chan, I got you...and you were supposed to be my sensei," he said playfully.  
>Shiko pouted. "Well the only reason you got me was because I didnt have my guard up," she whined.<br>"A ninja is never supposed to lower their guard," Madara murmered in a silky tone. Shiko felt her heart rate speed up.  
>"Now, Shiko-sensei, you must accept your consequences..."<br>He lowered his face closer to hers, so they were almost touching, and then smirked. He then quickly pressed his soft lips against hers, grinning into the gentle kiss when Shiko wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer. Things began to get heated.  
>This continued for a while, until they both heard a rustling in the trees behind them. Madara, (though quite unhappy at having to end his moment with Shiko) quickly sprang up and turned around, facing the direction of the noise. Shiko stood up as well, dusting herself off.<br>Whoever had made the noise stepped out from cover of the trees. As soon as Madara saw who it was, his muscles stiffened and his gaze hardened into a fierce glare. Shiko remained indifferent to the person who had come out.  
>"Why are you watching us, Hashirama?" Madara growled.<br>"It should make no difference to you, scum," Hashirama hissed in reply. Shiko grew uncomfortable, knowing this would probably be the start of one of their many fights. She wondered what she could do to prevent them from fighting.  
>"Anyways, I didnt come here for you, Uchiha," Hashirama continued. "I came here to talk to Shiko-chan, because she is needed at-"<br>"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN TALK TO ME LIKE THAT?" Madara roared.  
>"The same goes for you," Hashirama replied with a sneer. "You cant talk to the hokage like that. In any case, I need Shiko-chan to come with me for a meeting about the welfare of the village."<br>Madara proceeded to glare. "I know that isnt true," he said. "You just want her to be with you, and you're looking for any damn excuse!"  
>"WELL ITS NOT LIKE YOU DESERVE HER ANY MORE THAN I DO!" Hashirama shouted. Madara and Hashirama were now standing five feet away from eachother, each with glares that could kill.<br>"Besides," Hashirama said with gritted teeth, "If you hadnt interfered, she would have been my wife."  
>"You little bastard..." Madara snarled. He started shaking, and Hashirama knew he would snap and attack at any second now.<br>Just as he was about to, Shiko came up from behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.  
>"Madara," she whispered. Madara managed to stop shaking, and seemed to calm himself in Shiko's presence.<br>Hashirama glared at Madara, his eyes filled with jealously and anger. "Just go," Madara hissed. Hashirama turned around and started to walk away. When he had put about ten feet between himself and Madara, he stopped and turned back around, facing Madara, but looking at Shiko. "Goodbye, Shiko-chan," he said. He then continued on his way away and soon dissapeared.  
>Shiko sighed. "Why do you two always fight with eachother?" She muttered, more of a lament than a question. Madara just looked at her, not replying. There was an awkward silence between the two of them.<br>At last, Shiko broke the silence. "So, Madara, didnt you say you needed help with the frill necked lizard jutsu?"She asked. Madara nodded.  
>"Well, let's get to work," said Shiko in a cheerful voice. Madara grinned.***<p>

Shiko's thoughts were interupted by the door being opened and shut. She opened her eyes to see Yuri, holding up a tray of delicious-looking dangos. She was reminded of how hungry she was when the smell of them hit her nose, followed by her stomach growling loudly. Tobi was no where to be seen.  
>"Thankyou for the dangos," Shiko murmered when Yuri handed her the tray. "You're welcome," was her reply. "Hey, do you know if-"<br>Shiko was interupted by a loud explosion, sounding close. Suddenly, the door was being slammed open, and Deidara bursting in.  
>"Yuri-chan! We have trouble! Leaf ninja have found the base!" His eyes were filled with worry.<br>"What? But how?" Yuri almost shouted. "I dont know. But they're here! And causing trouble!" Then they both rushed out the door, going towards the sound of the explosion. Shiko just sat there on the infirmary bed, wondering what to do. At last, she decided that she would go and see what was happening, but try to remain undetected.

She jumped through the courtyard, over the roof, and landed in a tree a few yards away from a battle. On one side, there was Yuri and Deidara. On the Other side, there were five leaf village ninja, who seemed hell-bent on killing the two akatsuki members who faced them. There where two men, two teenage boys, and a girl. One of the men had silver hair, and wore his headband over his left eye. The other man had brown hair and black eyes, and was using a wood-style jutsu to protect his teammates.  
>'He seems a lot like Hashirama,' Shiko thought.<br>One of the boys was flying around on a bird that looked like it had come out of a drawing. The same boy took out a scroll and painted a beast on it. "Ninja art: super beast scroll!" Suddenly, the beast jumped off the paper, and ran to attack Yuri! 'That's a remarkable jutsu,' thought Shiko.  
>The other boy had yellow, spikey hair and Shiko could sense he had a remarkable amount of chakra. He was using shadow clones to try and overwhelm Deidara with numbers.<br>The girl on the team had pink hair, and was engaged in an intense tai-jutsu battle with Yuri.  
>She slammed her fist into the ground, making it shatter. Yuri didnt seem impressed. They sped around eachother, waiting for an opening to attack.<br>When it seemed like the pink-haired girl was about to land a hit, she was slammed backwards by an explosion. It was Deidara-eyes narrowed to slits, standing protectivly in front of Yuri, who had also been knocked down by the explosion. "I didn't need you to save me," muttered Yuri as she got back onto her feet. Deidara's eyes showed that he was hurt by her comment.  
>"Whatever..." said Deidara, masking his emotions before they became clear to the other shinobi.<br>'Hmm... I wonder if there's something going on between them,' Shiko thought.  
>"In any case, where's that other one?" Deidara whispered to Yuri, motioning to the group of four leaf ninja. The one with the silver hair was gone!<br>Yuri's face showed that she did not sense where he had gone off to, making them both quite alarmed.  
>'Where did he go?' wondered Shiko. Since she was still quite weak from the extraction, she had almost no chakra, and was having a hard time even walking without stumbling and falling.<br>Just then, she was slammed into a tree, with a kunai pressed against her throat. It was the silver-haired man from before! "Don't move..." he growled. Shiko could see that he had taken off his headband, making it clear that he had sharingan in the usually concealed eye.  
>"Just who the hell are you, anyway?" he demanded in a low voice. "It's impossible for you to even have that sharingan unless-"<br>He was cut off by a black and orange blur slamming him across the forest with his fist. When he stopped to asses the damage done to the man he had sent flying, Shiko could clearly see that it was Tobi, without his cloak on.  
>"T-tobi? What's going on?" He turned and faced Shiko. "Hello, Shiko-chan. Tobi was just saving Shiko-chan from Kakashi," he said in a cheerful voice. "Did he hurt Shiko-chan?"<br>Shiko, trying to understand Tobi's way of talking in third-person, took a minute to reply. "No...I'm fine...But what about that man Kakashi? What's going on?"  
>Tobi was about to explain when another large explosion shook the ground, making Shiko fall out of the treebranch she was standing on and start plummeting at a high speed towards the forest floor.<br>Tobi jumped, and caught Shiko just before she hit the ground. Holding her bridal style, he jumped away from the scene of the fight and whispered that they should get away from all the fighting, to be safe.  
>As soon as they were in a secluded area, Tobi expained to Shiko who each of the Leaf ninja were, and why they had come here.<br>When he was done, Shiko looked puzzled. "But...if my spirit was inside of Yamato's body...wouldn't he be dead?" Tobi nodded. "It's just that the first hokage's DNA was inside of him, so your full spirit wasn't," he said.  
>"Hey wait a minute, how do you know all of this, Tobi? You'd have to...Ok I don't know how...but HOW do you know all this?" Shiko asked. Tobi didn't reply. "Tobi?"<br>Tobi thought for a moment, and then decided that this would be a could time to reveal his identity.  
>"Shiko-chan.." he said, in his real voice, not his Tobi voice. Shiko's eyes widened at hearing it. Tobi continued,"I know because I was there."<br>"What?" Shiko asked, feeling a bit of shock. "Then...who are you?"  
>Tobi sighed. 'This is it,' he thought to himself.<br>He slowly reached up, and removed his mask. "My name is Uchiha Madara." he paused, then continued, "I've missed you, Shiko-chan."


	6. Chapter 6

((Note: In my story, Sasori didnt die. The leaf village ninja thought he died, but he didnt. Ever since his defeat he hasnt gone on any missions, so no one has seen him to realize he is indeed alive. Another note: Yuri doesnt know who Tobi is yet, but she will find out later in the story))

Shiko's eyes widened, and she froze. After a moment, she came out of her state of shock, and her eyes narrowed to slits.  
>Growling, she stood up. "That's a lie," she hissed. She approached him, her sharingan eyes flaring menacingly. Her dark side had come out. "How dare you try and impersonate him," she snarled. Shiko did not seem like the weak, chakra-drained person she had been only seconds earlier.<br>"But...Shiko-chan..." Madara said. He couldn't understand why she didn't believe him. "It's really me!" He reached forward and took her hand.  
>A second passed before the motion registered in Shiko's mind. She yanked her hand away from his, and slapped him across the face, sending him staggering into a tree. "Don't you EVER touch me."<br>Before Madara could reply, Shiko used what little chakra she had to perform a teleportation jutsu, leaving him stunned, still leaning on the tree he had been forced onto.  
>It took a minute before what Shiko had said sunk in. As soon as it did, pain ripped through his chest, the after-effects of being rejected and shunned by the one he loved the most.<p>

"Why...doesn't...she...believe me..." he hissed, clutching at his chest.

Meanwhile, back at the confrontation with the leaf ninja, things had cooled down.  
>The ninja had left after Itachi, Kisame, and Hidan had joined, seeing that they were both outnumbered and outskilled, and they had already freed Captain Yamato from captivity.<p>

Blinking, Yuri looked around. "I feel...strange..." she said. "Something's not quite right..."

"I've got to go and check on Shiko," she said suddenly.

When she reached the room, her eyes widened.  
>Itachi was the first one to get to the room, followed by Deidara, and then the rest.<p>

"She's gone," whispered Yuri.  
>Deidara, rubbing a bump on his head from getting knocked backwards by Kisame, added,"Tobi's gone too. I haven't seen him since the middle of the encounter with the leaf village ninja. I think he ran off or something..."<br>"Anyways, where is Amaya?"

Before the extraction of Shiko's spirit, Madara and Pein had decided to not let most of the akatsuki know who it was.  
>They told most of the akatsuki that the one they were extracting was named Amaya.<br>The ones that knew Amaya was Shiko were Itachi, Yuri, Konan, Rina, Sheena, Madara, and Pein.  
>The rest didnt. Not even Zetsu knew, who was well-known for knowing everything about everybody, being a silent spy and all.<p>

"..."  
>"Yuri, you and Rina look in the forest. Sheena and Konan, check the mountains. Itachi, you...go...um...wherever," said Pein.<br>"What about the rest of us, un," Deidara complained, unhappy about being left out of the search parties.  
>"Shut up," growled Pein. Deidara didnt speak anymore.<p>

Meanwhile, Shiko was stumbling through a mess of bushes.  
>She tripped, and ended up on her face in a thorn bush. Her dark side still out, she growled out enough different curses to make Hidan look like an innocent child.<br>After picking all of the thorns out of her skin, she looked around to see where she had gotten to.  
>When she had performed the teleportation jutsu, she didnt specify a place in her mind that she was supposed to go, so she could be anywhere on the planet, for all she knew.<br>She heard the sound of rushing water, and followed it because she was thirsty.  
>She came to a huge spring, with cliffs rising up from the opposite edge. Her dark side receded, and she ran to the water, cupping some in her hands and drinking it. She drank lots and lots of water, until it felt like she would burst if she tried to drink more.<p>

That was when she noticed the designs on the cliff. Well, cliff wasnt exactly the right word to call it...it was more like two giant statues that looked like they may have been part of a cliff at one point.  
>Her eyes widened as she recognized who the statues were supposed to be- the statue on the right side was Senju Hashirama. And the statue on the left side was Uchiha Madara!<br>"What...are...these?" Shiko wondered.  
>She guessed that they had been built after her spirit was sealed, due to the quality of the stone, but wondered why someone had built them. She thought they were probably a monument of some sort.<br>"What do these symbolize?"

-  
>Elsewhere...<p>

Uzumaki Naruto was having a bad day.  
>First, he had gotten his arm broken by Deidara. Then, he had gotten poisoned by Deidara's partner, some female akatsuki member that he wasnt familiar with, who he was guessing was Sasori's replacement. After that, he had to run all the way back to the leaf village in one day. And Finally, when he had gotten his arm fixed and was ready to relax and have dinner, he found out that the Ichiraku ramen shop was closed for the holidays.<p>

He was not in a good mood.

He decided to take a walk in the woods to sort out his thoughts.

He had been on edge ever since Captain Yamato had gotten kidnapped, and he expected that when they got him back to the leaf village it would stop. But it didnt.  
>Something felt...wrong. It was like they had overlooked something...it was eating at him.<p>

He heard the rushing of water, and he turned and saw it's source.  
>He was standing behind one of the statues at the final valley.<br>His eyes widened.

"It's been a long time since I've been here..." he said. He thought back to the last time. "Right...that was when Sasuke left the village..."

He heard the voice of someone, and turned around. Down at the lake part of the valley was a woman who couldn't have been older than 19, with long white hair, and...sharingan eyes?  
>Noticing him at last, the woman looked up.<br>"Hello," she said.

Naruto was not able to contain his shock of seeing someone with sharingan.  
>"Who...are...you?" he asked. He knew that the Uchiha clan had been exterminated, so the only ones who could use sharingan were Sasuke, his older brother Itachi, and Kakashi-sensei.<br>The woman looked a bit confused.  
>"My name is Uchiha Shiko," she said softly. "Come down here, and we can talk."<p>

At first, Naruto was a bit wary, but eventually his curiousity got the best of him and he jumped down from the statues to the waterside to join her.

"I can see that you are curious about me," the woman said. "I'm curious about you too. And this place...I wish to know more about it as well."

She paused. "I have an idea," she said. "We can do a trade system of sorts- I'll answer a question that you have, and then you must answer a question that I have."  
>Naruto took a minute to think this over, and then nodded, seeing no harm.<br>He scratched his head, trying to come up with a good question.

"How old are you?" he asked. She pouted. "Allready to the age thing, eh?" She closed her eyes. "But, I promised, so here is my answer. Don't blame me if it sounds unbelieveble."  
>Naruto silently wondered what she meant by that.<br>"Well, you see..." she paused to think. 'I was twenty when my spirit was sealed, and it's been about a hundred and five years since then...so...' she thought.  
>"Well, I'm about 125 years old."<br>Naruto's eyes widened until they looked like they were about to pop out of his head, but he didnt say anything for fear of upseting her, due to a similar situation he had gotten into with Tsunade-sama...  
>"Now," she said. "Time for my question, mister...?"<br>"Naruto."  
>"Right, Naruto-san...my question is...what is this place called, and what does it represent?"<p>

Naruto looked curiously at her. "Dont you already know, if you are so old?"  
>Shiko glared at him fiercely, scaring him into dropping his question and answering.<br>"Well...this place is called the final valley. It's where Senju Hashirama defeated Uchiha Madara. Thats about all I know. There's more to it though...I'm not completley sure about the details."  
>Shiko looked down. Sadness showed through her eyes.<br>"Thank you," she said softly. "I...I need to go now," she added. "I'm sorry, but I dont have any more time for questions."  
>With that, she jumped into a tree, a bit of her strength regained. She left, jumping through the forest at a high speed.<p>

Meanwhile, "Tobi" was sulking in his room, still not having been found by the other members who were still out looking for Shiko.  
>"She doesnt believe me...she doesnt believe me..." he kept repeating in a low voice. He was in a quite depressed mood.<br>It wasnt until the door opened that he stopped lamenting to himself and instead turned to glare at Pein, the person who had just walked into the room.  
>"What is it," he growled.<br>Pein sighed. "Shiko is nowhere to be found. Do you have any idea where she might be?"  
>Madara growled. "Do you honestly think that if I did I would still be sitting here and not out looking for her? What are you, an idiot?"<br>Pein's eyes narrowed.  
>"What are some of the places you think she would be likley to go?"<br>Madara took a moment to think. Then it clicked in his mind. He sighed.  
>"She is most likely somewhere in the leaf village. She always did like that place..."<p>

Pein nodded, making Madara roll his eyes.  
>"Well then, that's where I'm headed," Madara mumbled, heading out the door.<br>"Wait!" said Pein. "If she left because she didnt believe you were Madara, what makes you think she will come back with you?"  
>Madara turned, a mischevious look in his eye. "I'll prove it to her," he said, before putting on his mask. "See ya."<br>He then did a teleportation jutsu, getting him as close to the leaf village as possible before heading on foot. He wouldnt let Shiko slip through his fingers this time.

He had a plan.


	7. Chapter 7

(Author's comment: I'm sorry about the long wait between updates, I know its been over a month...please dont kill me. Ive been feeling very unmotivated and I have something to blame for it...The Avengers! Not too long after I finished chapter 6 I saw the Avengers, and since then ive been obsessing over it...im so sorry please forgive me for not updateing!)  
>(Note: I just thought that I should clarify the timeline for this story. It's after the start of the shippuden, so no Sasuke in the leaf village, but it's right before the three-tails arc, so no Asuma either.)<p>Shiko jumped through the trees, her thoughts whirling around in her head at a fast pace.<br>Mainly things involving the final valley and Madara.

Judging from the look of the boy who had told her, he hadnt been lying, but something was bugging her.

It was the fact that Madara had been defeated.

She knew, first-hand and from experience that Madara had been more powerful than Hashirama, or at least it seemed that way before her spirit had been sealed.  
>So it didnt seem right when Naruto said that the final valley was a monument dedicated to Madara's apparent defeat. It seemed...fishy.<p>

Shiko continued on her path through the forest, her feet unconciously bringing her towards a place that she knew well...or...had known well the last time she was there.

It seemed hours had passed before she reached her destination.  
>She was standing about 100 yards away from the gates to the leaf village.<p>

Shiko looked beyond the gate from her standpoint in the tree for a moment, gazing into the village. Already she could tell that it had grown much larger in her absence. In the distance she could see the hokage monument.

She noted that there were now five carvings on it instead of just one.  
>To the right of Hashirama's spot was what Shiko guessed was a carving of Tobirama, his younger brother. Shiko didnt recognize any of the other faces.<p>

Shiko stopped looking at the village and just relaxed for a moment, planning out her next action.

To be honest, she had no idea what she would do when she entered the village. She didnt have a place to stay, and becoming a ninja was probably out of the question due to her...recognizability.  
>She at last decided to just see what came, and prepared to enter the village.<p>

Shiko reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a long white bandage. She had kept it there for a reason that most people around her werent aware of.

Shiko carefully wrapped it around her face, covering her eyes like a blindfold. It would mask her sharingan, making her look less suspicious. It would also give her an opportunity to sharpen her senses.

She honestly didnt need to see to get around well. She could sense the chakra of most living things, including humans, animals, and even some large plants like trees. She could also sense vibrations in the ground, telling her where everything was, if they were moving, and where they were headed.  
>Needless to say, Uchiha Shiko did not need her eyes to navigate.<p>

She jumped out of the tree and walked forward, nearing the gates. There was no problem in getting through them, so she walked into the village without a second thought.

After a long moment of thought on where to go, Shiko decided that it would be best to visit the Uchiha compound and see if there were people there who could help her.

When Shiko reached the compound, the first thing she felt was...emptiness. The whole place had a feeling of eeriness to it...and there weren't any people there. It was so strange.

She crept through the old compound, passing houses and other buildings. At last she found the building she was looking for. It was the one she had stayed in the last time she was in Konoha. And surprisingly, it was still there. Shiko had the strong building structure to thank for that.

She slowly opened the door, still searching for any signs of life in the house. There were none, no chakra fields...no noises...nothing. She decided being cautious was no longer necessary and walked plainly in open sight into the house.  
>Shiko even took off her blindfold. When she was able to see the inside of the house, she inhaled sharply in surprise. It looked exactly like it had 105 years ago, without a single thing out of place! There was lots of dust, and spider-webs, because nothing had been touched in such a long time.<p>

She took a step forward, taking it all in. Shiko decided to leave and see if there was an explanation somewhere for this, so she put her blindfold back on.

"Its nice, isnt it?"

Shiko whirled around to face the man standing behind her. In the dark, she couldnt see his face. But his voice sounded familiar to her.  
>"M-...Madara?" she asked, uncertain.<p>

"Yes, dear, it's me," he replied, slowly approaching her. When he got close enough so that Shiko could see him through the dark her eyes narrowed.

"No...no you're not...not him..." she murmered, looking at his mask. "You're not Madara...you're the man with the mask...the same one as before...Tobi..."

He shook his head, growing angry. He jumped forward and grabbed her wrists, pinning Shiko to the wall.

"I'll show you...prove it to you..."

He ripped the blindfold off of her face, and stared into her eyes. Sharingan met Sharingan, and a moment of peace passed between the two of them. That peace was short-lived.

Madara struggled to throw her into a Sharingan-based genjutsu. It was difficult because of the level of power Shiko's own sharingan possesed compared to his. Hers was quite possibly even more powerful than his.

But Shiko was weary, with most of her power not yet regained, so it was possible. She became trapped in his genjutsu, and he had complete control over her.

They were standing in a green field, filled with pretty flowers.

"Is this...some kind of joke?" Shiko groaned.

Tobi shook his head, grinning maniacally, knowing she couldnt see since he still had his mask on. "I'm afraid not, dear," he whispered into her ear. "Now, since the lighting here is a bit...better...you can see me, correct?" He took off his mask, so she could see his face.  
>Not waiting for an answer, he continued. "Now, Shiko-chan, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me who I am. You know who I am..."<p>

Shiko looked up at him, glaring. Examining his face, he did look very much like Madara. But still she shook her head. "You...you are not Madara... don't lie..."  
>Tobi jumped forward, holding her wrists tightly enough that it began to hurt.<p>

"You aren't going to listen to me are you? That's alright though...I still have something to show you. You'll know then...you'll r-recognize me..." he caught himself as he stuttered, not saying anything. Regardless of how he felt for Shiko, his pride did not allow for showing weakness as stuttering when emotionally stressed.

Tobi gripped the side of her neck gently, and changed the genjutsu.

They were now, so it seemed, standing in her old room at the Senju clan's main household.

"Don't you remember this room, Shiko-chan?" Tobi said softly. "This is where we stayed when I infiltrated the Senju clan, as a black kitten...Shade, correct?"  
>Shiko blinked. In her mind, she was already wondering how he could know this. But, if he was the real Madara, she was going to need a bit more proof than this.<p>

"You're still not convincing me..." she hissed.

"Oh, but I will," Tobi murmered huskily into her ear.

Suddenly, everything went black.

((Author's note: Woohoo! im sorry to leave you guys with a cliffhanger after such a long time but thats the way it goes ^-^))


	8. Chapter 8

((Author's note: i am so so so sorry for not updating, i've been really out of it lately. But heres the next chapter! :) ))  
>(( Another Author's note: I have decided that im going to start answering questions of the reviewers here! Though its only going to be one reviewer...*points at Yuuti-chan* ^^))<br>((To Yuuti-chan: Yes, yes it is. There is a story behind it, a large part of Shiko's character. But dont worry, she wont be a mary-sue with it...because there are disadvantages to it that have yet to be explained...muahahahaha!))  
>But now...ON WITH THE STORY!<p>Shiko awoke to the faint sound of yelling. She was surrounded by stone, or so it seemed. She was chained to a stone wall, and there was a gag around her mouth.<br>"Tobi! Get back here you insolent..." she could only hear bits and pieces of things, coming from above. This led Shiko to believe that she was underground, a strange place to be if she was trapped inside someone's genjutsu...  
>Shiko realized that her hands werent bound to her sides, so she removed the gag from her mouth.<p>

Shiko couldnt tell if she was still trapped inside Tobi's genjutsu, but after a while she determined that she wasnt. She groaned, wondering how she was going to get out of this.

Judging from the yelling upstairs, the voice belonged to one of the members of the Akatsuki she had seen before her "departure" earlier, the blonde one known as Deidara. Shiko wondered idly how Tobi had managed to get her so far away from the Leaf in what seemed so little time to her.

She tried breaking the chains, but found that she was still weak and the chains were chakra-resistant. Shiko looked down, and found that not only could she not break the metal, but there were seals on her stomach to prevent her from both teleporting and building up enough chakra to break through the resistant metal. Her eyes widened when she realized she wasnt wearing a shirt...the only thing covering her upper-body were a few bandages, just barely managing to cover her breasts.

Shiko shivered with disgust, knowing that Tobi must have been the one to do this to her. An image of him touching her, his hands gliding over her bare flesh, made her want to vomit.

But a tiny voice at the back of her mind told her she wouldnt mind it. Besides, there was a possibility that he WAS Madara, and if that was the case, then...  
>No. She shook her head, trying to clear the mindless thoughts that circled throughout it. The Final Valley...and what Naruto had told her...there was no way that Madara could still be alive. Even if he didnt die in battle like Naruto had said, he would have died of old age by now. It had been 105 years!<p>

Shiko was absorbed in her thoughts, and didnt notice when the door to the room opened.

"Hello, Shiko-sama," said a quiet voice.

Shiko looked up, and recognized the girl, Yuri. She was holding a tray of food, glancing at her worriedly.  
>"I brought you something to eat," she said slowly.<p>

Yuri approached her slowly, cautious, as if she were afraid Shiko would attack her.

"Come on, girl, whats the matter?" Shiko asked dryly. She vaguely wondered if Tobi had said something to make Yuri afraid of her. But...then again...knowing who she was was a cause for fear itself.

Yuri blinked. "N-nothing...its just...nothing..."

Shiko growled. The girl was getting irritating.

"I'm sorry, I'll leave now!" Yuri said quickly. She set the tray of food down next to Shiko, and scampered out of the room like a frightened mouse.

Shiko looked down at the food, unsure if she actually wanted to eat it at all. She probably should, but the idea of food didnt appeal to her.

She just stared at the silver tray. Shiko wondered vaguely if it was poisoned. Considering all that had happened, she wouldnt be too surprised if it was.

She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Considering the other places she had been while captured, this place actually wasnt too bad. But, if given a choice, she would have picked any other place than this. Damn Tobi.

Shiko's mood shifted as her dark side surfaced. Her anger level was rising.

It was at that moment that Tobi chose to appear, directly in front of her, making her jump.  
>"What the hell do you want?" Shiko snarled. The tomoes on her Sharingan whirled dangerously.<p>

Tobi didnt say anything for a moment. He simply stood a few feet away from her, fiddling with his fingers as if he were nervous, which he wasnt. He was merely in deep thought.

"I have come here...to return something to you, Shiko-chan," he said slowly. He walked forward until he was directly in front of her, paying no mind to the threat of Shiko's eyes.

He held out a red pendant, with a gold chain. It was old, and the ruby was slightly cracked, but still the pendant was beautiful. The faded gemstone was engraved with the kanji for love. "Come on now, darling, you must remember this," Tobi said, almost in a mocking tone. He placed it in the palm of her hand.

Shiko's eyes scanned it over, recognizing it immediatly. Saying nothing, she nodded absentmindedly.  
>Tobi took off his mask, grinning. "I knew you would, for how could you forget? I'll leave you alone then, for a while...but I'll be back. You'll remember me soon enough..."<br>He put his mask back on, hiding his face. In a flash he was gone, just as quickly as he had appeared.

Shiko fiddled with the gold chain of the pendant, the familiar feeling bringing back waves of memories and emotions. And another feeling. Anger.  
>The pendant...Madara had given it to her while she was still in the Senju clan. Before she had left...<br>It used to be one of her most prized possesions. How the hell had he gotten it?! The last time she had seen it was the day before she had been sealed away. Ooh, that definitly brought back bad memories.  
>Shaking her head, Shiko turned her attention to the silver food tray she had forgotten about earlier. Dango and rice. Heh.<br>Setting the pendant aside, she slowly began consuming the now-cold food, not bothering to be neat or use manners. She was tied up in a cell against her will, for god's sake. There was no reason for her to be polite.

Sheena and the other girls were trying to watch a video, but it wouldnt start. And, considering they were S-ranked criminals and couldnt just waltz into a store to get a new video (or video player, they didnt know which was broken), it was simply putting them into a bad mood. Especially Sheena.  
>Tobi suddenly came running at top speed towards them, waving his arms around like a maniac.<br>"Tobi wants to play! Tobi wants to play! Tobi wants to play with Sheena!" he half-screamed into their ears.

It was, obviously enough, a signal that Madara wanted to speak with Sheena. Alone.

So, she didnt argue as Tobi dragged her off the couch and down the hallway, then into a room, and then shutting the door.

Sheena simply sighed, folding her arms in a bored manner, when in fact she was both pissed and curious. She spoke slowly. "...Do you need something...Madara-sama?" Her tone was slightly mocking, something that irritated the masked man greatly.  
>He took off his mask and grumbled quietly.<br>"Your sister. She doesnt believe a godamned thing I say. She doesnt believe I'm alive. Any idea why that is?" he growled in an almost accusing tone.  
>Sheena rolled her eyes. "You expect me to have an answer to that? I dont know what goes on inside her head! She's a bit...crazy, if you know what I mean. You know that," a glare from Madara shut her up.<br>Sheena sweatdropped. Clearing her throat, she started again. "Well, she had a few good reasons for thinking you're lying to her. Think about it. The last time she saw you, you were 20 years old and looked it, too. You had no idea where or what the preservation jutsu was at the time. Do the math- a hundred and five years passed. She thinks that you'd either have died in that battle with Hashirama, or old age. It isnt that difficult."  
>Madara growled again. These logical reasons against him were only pissing him off, though he knew they were reasonable. He was just an irritable person. "...I cant believe I have to stoop this low..." he began.<br>Sheena narrowed her eyes, shooting daggers through his skull in her imagination.  
>"How is it that she will believe me?" Madara finished.<p>

Sheena grinned. She wouldnt miss a chance like this to completely piss him off and humiliate him while also helping her sister. It was a win-win-win! For her, at least. The first two wouldnt fly so well with the man-child standing in front of her.  
>"So you need my help? I'm flattered," she purred smoothly. Madara's eye twitched.<br>"Look. Its simple- all you need to do is confirm that you are who you say. Prove you're Madara by showing or telling her something only you would know, and no one else."  
>"I gave her the old pendant and it did nothing," Madara hissed.<br>Sheena nodded. "Yeah, but you and Shiko arent the only ones who knew about it. She wore that thing a lot, there are lots of people who could have somehow managed to get their hands on it. You need something even more personal. And you, being the secretive fellows you are, probably have plently of truth-worthy and convincing facts. Look. This is your problem, Madara. You know I dont like you being with my sister, and I'm not helping you because I like you. Im helping you because you make my sister happy."  
>Sheena didnt say anything else. She left the room, leaving Madara thoughtfully tapping his chin.<br>Huh. This was going to be a bit harder than he thought.  
> <p>


	9. Chapter 9

(I just thought I should mention, this story is a bit AU in parts. Izuna wasn't killed by Madara in this story, he died of old age.)

Chapter Nine

It had been about three weeks since Shiko's capture, and Madara was getting fed up. Very quickly. After giving her the pendant, he had tried showing her memories the two of them had shared, and it failed. Quite miserably. After that, he'd had to go on a mission and didn't have the time to try anything else.

What he didn't know was that he wasn't the only one being fed up with Shiko's pig-headed responses. Her sister, Sheena, who had at first only laughed at Madara when every attempt failed, was growing tired of it as well. She wanted to have her sister back.

So, that was what led to the current situation- Sheena was sprawled flat on her back, groaning and rubbing her sore skin.

A few feet away from her, Madara smirked from behind his orange mask.

"**What the hell is wrong with you**?! Why would you place an explosive protection jutsu on the door to her cell and not tell anyone?!" Sheena shouted at him. She had been about to walk into Shiko's cell and give her a girl talk -meaning that she'd slam her against a wall and yell at her repeatedly that Madara was alive-, but as soon as she had tried to open the door, some weird concealed jutsu was activated, and the air around it seemed to explode and knocked her backwards. This was why she was in the current situation.

"It's to protect the cell from being entered by someone who doesn't belong there," came Madara's smooth reply. "...And I wanted to test the chakra concealing jutsu I placed around it, which is what made it undetectable for you... apparently, it works. Or you could just be losing a few steps..."

Sheena scowled. "I'm not the only one who's losing a few steps if you still can't convince Shiko it's really you and not some creep who's pretending to be you," she growled without thinking.

In a flash she was up against the wall, her throat almost being crushed by both of his hands.

"Never, EVER speak to me in that disrespectful tone. Do you understand why I've kept you around so long, even though you serve virtually no purpose to the Akatsuki and continually cause problems?"

Sheena choked as his grip tightened slightly. The tomoes of Madara's sharingan were whirling at a frightening speed. She had definitely made him angry.

"It's because you are her sister. I know how close you two are. I've seen it. It's the one reason that I keep you alive- she loves you." "But..." he added, his voice dripping with venom, "If your behavior continues to be poor... I might just make a little slip up, and the Akatsuki will find out 'You went on a mission and Tobi accidentally got you killed'."

Sheena shivered. Though sometimes he might act utterly stupid... Uchiha Madara was not one to mess around with.

_And after all the help I gave him_, Sheena thought. _Jackass._

Madara turned and was about to walk away, when he stopped and looked back. "Try what you can with Shiko..." then he walked away, going up the stairs, probably going to bother Deidara or someone else.

At first, Sheena thought she had heard wrong. But she knew she hadn't. She never heard wrong.

But the Madara she knew would never let her interfere and help Shiko realize who he was. He _had _to do it himself. It was an issue of his pride- he would never admit he needed help.

In the past, if there was something that Madara needed help with, he had discarded the task instead of asking for help, creating an excuse for why it was unnecessary.

Granted, it had only happened once before, but still... the importance of the gesture did not escape her.

And... it made her, for once in her life, not look down upon the bond he had with her sister. She meant more to him than his pride. That was huge, in her opinion.

And so, Sheena decided to not hold a grudge against Madara. For the time being, at least. She wasn't making any promises for later.

Sheena once again tried to open the door, this time wary of an explosion. None came. Madara's 'protection jutsu' was one time only, it seemed.

From across the room, she could Shiko's form, curled up on the ground, seemingly sleeping.

Sheena grinned. According to the breathing patterns and way her left hand twitched...

"Come on, you're not fooling anybody by pretending that you're asleep," she laughed, smiling softly. It had been so long since they'd seen each other...

Shiko shot up, the look on her face definitely shock.

"Sh-sheena? Is that you?"

Sheena grinned, and used a powerful jump to land right in front of her sister. She spread out her arms and embraced her in a powerful hug.

"Long time no see, sis,"Sheena whispered.

Shiko nodded. "Too long of a time, if you ask me. It was so weird, being a jinchuuriki spirit... wow, I've had a real doozy of a month so far, too," she giggled. Evidently, her 'light' side was out, happy to see her sister.

"So have I." Sheena hugged her even tighter. Her eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to spill over. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

"Shiko-chan, there's something I need to talk to you about," she whispered. "It's serious."

Shiko cocked her head to the left, looking curious. "What is it?" she asked, letting go of Sheena and sitting cross-legged on the stone floor.

"It's about..." Sheena lowered her voice, unsure of what to say. "It's about Madara."

Shiko's face lost all traces of merriment, and an aura of seriousness settled around her. "What... about... him...?" she murmured hoarsely, her voice sounding almost unsure.

"Before I tell you, you have to promise that you'll hear me out and not interrupt. It's kind of hard to believe," Sheena said.

Shiko raised an eyebrow. She thought about it for a moment, and then decided to comply. "Alright," she said. "I promise."_ We sound like children,_ she thought, slightly amused.

Sheena leaned forward. "He's alive._ And _he's an Akatsuki. You know him as Tob- "

Shiko snarled loudly, quickly growing furious. "TOBI IS _NOT _MADARA! Did he put you up to this?! Are you under some kind of genjutsu?! Are y- "

Sheena clamped a hand over her mouth. "Dammit! Didn't I say TO NOT INTERRUPT ME?!"

Shiko growled and tried to yell something back, but the hand over her mouth muffled it and it simply sounded like gibberish. Very loud and angry gibberish. Shiko then licked the palm of Sheena's hand.

Sheena shivered, then smirked. "You should know by now that that doesn't work. So please SHUT THE FUCK UP and listen, this time without interrupting."

She sighed. She was starting to get seriously fed up with Shiko's behavior.

Shiko quieted herself, simply glaring. _I'll hear what she has to say..._

"Alright, now that you're finally listening to me... let's see... where to start..." Sheena rubbed the back of her neck. "After... after your sealing...well... Madara thought you were dead. So did I, at first... After about three years, Madara fought with Hashirama. Again. Nothing too serious, but it was where and how he discovered your spirit was sealed inside him... to put it mildly, he was extremely, extremely pissed off."

Sheena shivered. It really was an understatement. A huge, huge understatement. Madara had walked to the Uchiha compound, his sharingan activated, and stomped into his house, breaking the door by slamming it too hard. He'd blown three fireballs at Izuna, who had tried to ask him what was wrong. Then he'd spent over a week screaming at anyone who irrated him in the slightest way. She didn't mention this to her sister.

Shiko laughed. "Sounds like him," she commented.

Sheena nodded, and then continued. "Well... he... you know how Madara hated the treaty with the Senju... For him, was one of the last straws. Maybe the last one. As you know, he was named clan leader shortly before your sealing, and...well..."Sheena paused, taking a breath.

"I was out of the village, on a mission. When I had completed it and returned, Madara was gone. Our clan banished him, and Konoha kicked him out too. I don't know what happened, but to this day he won't tell me. And you know that the clan elders never trusted me, so they wouldn't tell me either. They seemed really riled up by something he'd done though..."

She sneezed. She really didn't like this underground cell room, it was too dusty.

"Only a few days later, I was at Hashirama's office to get another mission... Well, he wasn't there. I gave up, and went for a run in the forest to clear my head. Well, I got quite a ways out there... And I saw Madara fighting with Hashirama. It was serious this time though...they really meant to kill each other. It seemed Hashirama was winning... Madara collapsed, and Hashirama left, thinking that he'd died. But he wasn't dead. He'd cast a genjutsu to make himself appear dead. I know because the jerk grabbed my arm as I tried to leave, scaring the crap out of me."

Sheena was interrupted by Shiko laughing. "I..I'm sorry," she wheezed. "It's just...nevermind."

Sheena scowled, and then continued, "He told me he wanted to learn the self-preservation jutsu crap that'd immortalized _us_. And then he left the village... I didn't see him again for five years, during which time I had decided to leave Konoha, and moved to a non-ninja village near the desert. He just appeared in my house one day, saying that he'd found the clan that kidnapped us, performed the preservation jutsu on himself from a scroll he stole, then wiped everyone out. He also told me that he was planning something, and that he would be back when his plans came to order. Then he disappeared again. I didn't see him at all until five years ago. He showed up, and pretty much kidnapped me and brought me here. He leads the Akatsuki- but he pretends that he's an idiot named Tobi so that no one knows who he is. Okay, I'm finished with my story."

Shiko blinked. "Did this... really happen?"

Sheena face-palmed. "Yes, Shiko, IT DID. Now stop being so bull-headed or pig-headed or whatever the expression is, and accept that Madara is both alive, and that he's Tobi. You're making things very hard for all of us!"

Shiko looked down. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "So sorry..."she sank to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. The look in her eyes clearly showed pain, and remorse.

Sheena sighed. "It's ok," she finally replied. "And it was kind of funny to see Madara running around like an idiot, trying to convince you..."

Shiko stifled a laugh, and much of the tension in the air lifted as the problem disappeared. "I suppose I owe him an apology..."

"Yes, I think you do," Sheena muttered. Then she stood up, brushing the dust off of her clothes.

"I'm going to go and get Madara, alright? I think the two of you need to have a talk... without either of you exploding and yelling." Without waiting for a reply, Sheena walked out of the room, shutting the door unceremoniously behind her.

Shiko blinked. It seemed like the conversation had ended too abruptly... Oh well. She'd get to talk with her sister again soon. Or so she hoped.

A few minutes passed, silent. Shiko contemplated on what she would say to Madara. 'Hey, I'm sorry for swearing at you, fighting you, and not believing you'? It didn't sound quite right.

A sudden dark light swirled in front of her, signaling the teleportation jutsu that 'Tobi' used. His body materialized, and he took a few steps towards her.

Shiko felt the heavy aura of his chakra, for the first time not reacting badly to its presence.

"...Madara?" she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He smiled from under his mask.

"Yes..."

END OF CHAPTER 9

(I know I left you with another cliffy but... Well, ladies and gents, did you like it? I.. I'm sorry about not updating q_q. Blame... *looks down at list of excuses*... uh... blame Sheena for blowing fireballs at me! It's hard to concentrate when that's happening, ya know? I'm going to start trying to update much more often... so be prepared! :3 OH! I almost forgot. I'm going to start a "Letters to the Other Mask cast" story. You can send in letters by PM or review to any of the characters, and they will write back! :3)


	10. Chapter 10

(Author's note: Admittedly, there is some gooey stuff in this chapter. But hey...All stories have some goo in them, right?)

Chapter Ten

The room was silent, and tension clouded the air.

"...I've been waiting for you to come to your senses," Madara murmured.

Shiko looked at him, and stood up. "Madara..."

"It's been a while. But yes. It's me. And... before you say anything...it's fine. Took me a while to realize this but...if I had been in your shoes, I would have done the same thing."

Madara was lying. He just didn't want to have to go through with a gooey apology. He didn't like excessive emotions of that type.

Shiko hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. It took him a moment to notice that she was crying. Her tears began to soak through his shirt, but he didn't mind. He had more important things to worry about.

Slowly, he began to rub her back, trying to be soothing. His other arm wrapped around her waist, hugging her body even closer to him.

"I...I missed you," she whispered, her voice muffled.

"Let's get you out of these chains, shall we?" Madara stopped rubbing Shiko's back and gently removed the chains from around her wrists and ankles. As soon as they were off, she rubbed the areas where the metal had been especially tight. Those areas of skin were red, and a bit sore.

"Does it hurt?" Madara asked softly, a hint of worry in his voice.

Shiko shook her head. "It's fine. A little sore, but fine."

Madara breathed.

"That's good."

Shiko looked up at him. "...So now that I'm not your prisoner anymore, what's going to happen?"

Madara laughed. "Well...I was thinking that you'd join the Akatsuki, if you wanted to... I get _lonely_ sometimes...if you know what I mean."

Shiko's cheeks darkened with a hint of a blush. "Was that innuendo?"

Madara folded his arms across his chest. "Maybe.." If he wasn't wearing his mask, he would have been sticking out his tongue.

Shiko stared at him strangely for a moment, almost as if she were looking for something...

"Done. You _are_ Madara."

"...Huh?" Admittedly, he had no idea what she was talking about. They'd already established the fact of who he was.

"Oh, nothing," Shiko giggled. "It's just...I couldn't be absolutely sure until I checked your chakra signature. That's what I just did. So yes, you are Madara."

The masked man sighed. At least she wouldn't fight him anymore.

"Let's get out of this cell. It's too...I just don't like it," Madara grumbled. He didn't really need a reason.

He picked her up, holding her bridal style.

"Hey! I can walk by myself!" Shiko protested.

Madara raised an eyebrow. "Can you?" And with that, he dropped her. On the ground. She hit it hard.

Shiko growled. She mumbled a curse under her breath, and slowly stood up, her legs shaking. She took a few steps, and almost tripped. "See? I can walk," she said, denying the fact that she really couldn't. Without support, anyways.

"I remain unconvinced." And, with that, Madara scooped her up into his arms once more against her will, and used his teleportation jutsu to leave the cell.

When Shiko opened her eyes, they were standing inside of a dark, cave-like room. Not too unlike her cell, to her displeasure. Only there wasn't as much dust, and there seemed to be a chakra-thick presence...

Then she noticed the statue. A huge, demonic looking statue, with eyes that seemed to glow with some kind of dark force.

Out of the blue, Shiko twitched.

"Madara, this is a bit random but... I've seen a lot of creepy things in my life, but that statue over there is definitely one of the most creepy things I've seen. Ever. It almost... frightens me."

Madara laughed softly. "As it should..."He put her down, gently this time. He kept a hand on her, in case she stumbled again and fell. They continued to walk, going through the dark cave. As they rounded the statue, several hallways came into view, which had previously been hidden from sight.

"Where are we going?" Shiko asked, feeling a bit strange.

"To meet someone, If you're going to join the Akatsuki, there are some things we need you to know first," Madara replied, his voice smooth. If Shiko were a cat, she would be purring. She always did love his voice...

Eventually, they had completely passed the creepy statue and were headed down the hallway furthest to the left.

A sudden wave of dizziness suddenly came over Shiko, and her vision went black.

Madara easily caught her body before she hit the ground, holding her bridal style once more. He continued walking, his footsteps echoing softly around the cavernous stone walls.

The next time that Shiko's eyes opened, her surroundings were bright. She was lying on a cot next to a bookcase. The whole room seemed to hold an air of importance to it, making Shiko wonder where exactly she was.

Upon closer inspection, Shiko found that she was in an office-like room. Madara and some other man with orange hair who she didn't recognize were conversing in the corner.

"Madara?" she asked.

She felt the two men's attention shift to her, something that she didn't feel entirely comfortable with.

Madara drifted over to her side. "You're awake again, that's good," he murmured. He pressed a hand softly on her forehead, checking for signs of a fever. There were none.

"Shiko-chan, this is Pein," Madara said, motioning to the man with orange hair. Shiko briefly noted that the man seemed to have an excessive amount of piercings. She was curious why, but didn't ask. She'd learned long ago that asking things of that matter was rude.

Madara cleared his voice, so the attention was drawn away from Shiko and back to him.

"And now, we are going to discuss your role in the Akatsuki," Madara announced. "It's important."

(Author's note: Sorry to end it like this, but I ran out of time, and I really wanted to get this published on 12/12/12. *hugs Yuuti-chan* thanks for reviewing so much )


	11. Chapter 11

(Author's note: There might be some fluff….maybe….havent quite decided on it. *glomps Yuuti-chan* its so nice to have a reviewer like you :D

And hello, Dina Sana. I'm so happy to have another reviewer :D

*gives free cookies to Yuuti-chan and Dina Sana*)

**Chapter 11**

Shiko nodded. "I suppose so… So um…what is it that I need to know?"

Madara motioned with his hand towards Pein, who then answered, "Like Madara said before, you need to know your role. As you know, most people believe you are dead, and if people were to find out you were alive it would cause a large stir- and unwanted attention. So, you will have to pretend to be someone else."

Madara nodded, and silenced Pein, wanting to talk to Shiko himself. "The other members believe you are a shinobi named Amaya. We came up with a story for you, interesting in hearing it?" it wasn't a question. Besides, Shiko would have to know her own story if her cover as 'Amaya' would work, so she nodded in response and let Madara continue.

"So basically… you are a shinobi from Kumogakure who left the village after having a large disagreement with the Raikage about one of your missions. While escaping the village, your face was horribly scarred in a battle with many of the anbu and you began wearing a mask to hide it. After becoming a rogue ninja and traveling around for a while, you had a conflict with a band of Konoha ninja, which resulted in the sealing of your spirit within captain Yamato. Pein learned of your abilities, and took Captain Yamato captive to obtain your spirit to be extracted so you could join the Akatsuki."

Shiko nodded. In all, it sounded like a pretty acceptable story. "Ok," she said. "But what about the mask? I need it to keep in check with my backround, and to hide my sharingan…"

Madara opened one of the drawers on the desk that he was standing next to, and pulled out a a mask. He tossed it across the room, and Shiko caught it in one of her hands.

It was identical to the mask Madara wore, the only difference being that it was white instead of orange.

"You will wear this one, I had it specially made so that it would match Tobi's," he replied. Shiko nodded, almost giggling. She found it amusing that he wanted them to match. It was kind of sweet, in a way…

"I like it…." It had a neat design, in her opinion, and she liked the fact that it was similar to Madara's.

Madara looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to put it on. So did Pein. It almost struck her as funny, the way they were looking at her. Shiko didn't know why. It just seemed… funny.

Sensing the impatience emanating from the two males, Shiko didn't hesitate any longer in putting on the mask.

It took her a moment to adjust to only seeing from one eye, but she adapted quickly enough. Being Amaya would prove to be an interesting endeavor…

"You're ready, Amaya-chan!" shrieked Madara in his Tobi voice, startling her.

"Um…yeah, I guess…"

'Tobi' almost seemed to pout, making Shiko want to smile. Though she'd never admit it, she found his behavior cute, and kind of entertaining as well.

"You need to make your voice a little bit higher in pitch, disguise it a little," Madara murmured in his regular voice. Then he switched back to Tobi's voice (Shiko was going to go crazy if he kept switching this often and confusing her). "Come on! It's time to go meet the new members!"

He grabbed her arm, pulling her out the door and out of the room. It was a different hallway from before, and Shiko couldn't sense the presence of the creepy statue. It was probably quite a long way away. Good. The thing freaked her out.

As they were walking, Shiko noticed a number of doors on the way. "Those are Tobi's friend's rooms," Tobi said as they walked past. "You'll be staying in one too."

They came to a large open room, with gray carpet, a couch, and a tv which looked like it might be broken.

Part of the room narrowed, turned and had a corner, and then opened up again into a large kitchen, with a few tables pulled together in the corner for when the Akatsuki would eat meals.

The sound of someone humming floated to Shiko's ears, coming from the kitchen area.

"Making soup, making soup…" It sounded like the girl Shiko had met a few weeks ago, Yuri.

"Let me guess… she's making soup?" Amaya/Shiko asked.

Tobi nodded.

"Yuri-chan! What kind of soup are you making?!" He shrieked, making Yuri jump and almost spill it.

"Look what you almost made me do! Don't startle me like that, you idiot!" the blonde woman yelled. Amaya winced at the tone of her voice.

Tobi sulked. "Tobi is sorry… Yuri-chan, this is Tobi's friend, Amaya-chan! Please say hi…"

Yuri blinked. "A new member…? Oh, its….H-hello, Amaya," she stammered, realizing what was going on.

Amaya waved. _This might actually be some fun, _she thought.

"Hello, Yuri-chan," she replied softly, changing her voice and making it higher pitched. She feigned a nervous position, fiddling with her fingers and slightly hiding behind Tobi.

As much as Shiko found 'Tobi' entertaining, she didn't want to act like that herself. It was too much work, and if her dark side emerged, it would cause trouble.

Tobi seemed to sense this, and went along with it.

"Amaya-chan is very shy," he explained. Tobi patted Amaya's arm in a reassuring way. "Don't worry, Yuri-chan is nice," he said in a cheerful tone. "…Most of the time," he added under his breath, earning a glare from her.

Tobi suddenly grabbed Amaya's hand, startling her and making her almost jump.

"Let's go meet the other members!" he chirped, pulling her away from the kitchen. Yuri stood there blinking, feeling the awkwardness of the suddenly ended conversation. She sighed, and then continued cooking the soup.

Tobi continued pulling Amaya until they reached the hallway, where he let go of her hand and let her walk beside him.

Since they were out of earshot of everyone else, Shiko returned her voice to normal.

But she still whispered, just in case.

"Do we _have _to go and meet the other members? I don't want to…"

Under his mask, Madara raised an eyebrow.

He thought for a moment, before replying, "You _do_ have to be introduced to everyone else, but I suppose it could be postponed for a little while… if you give me a hug."

"….." Shiko stared at him, the shock setting in.

"….."

"What?" Madara asked, almost sounding defensive.

"…." A second passed, and Shiko burst into laughter.

"Nothing," she replied, "Its just…It's just…You're…_you…_and it…just…doesn't seem like…something you'd… ask for…and.. I guess it just seems….silly…" She was clutching her sides now, laughing even harder.

Madara growled. Shiko quieted, mentally smacking herself. She knew from experience that it wasn't a good idea to get this man angry.

"Perhaps," he said, his voice low.

"Or maybe, I want to feel your body pressed against mine_. _Maybe, I feel very _needy_, and I require close physical contact to keep from going…insane…" His voice was a smooth as silk, and his words drew a blush to Shiko's face. It no longer seemed silly.

"So, I ask again….do I get my hug?"

She looked up, realizing he had removed his mask when she looked away.

Shiko nodded slowly and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him.

Instantly, Madara drew her closer to his chest with crushing strength, burying his face in her neck.

"I want to see your face," he breathed, gently slipping off her mask. It fell to the floor with a barely audible tap, no one paying attention to it any longer.

Their eyes met for a moment, years of raging emotion being exchanged through what seemed to be a simple glance.

The moment passed, and Madara buried his face into the side of her head, nuzzling it affectionately.

Then, his touch seemed to get a little more…demanding.

His right hand slid from her shoulder to the small of her back, brushing his fingers along her spine. It went even lower, resting finally on her butt.

With that hand he pulled her even closer, pressing her lower body against his.

"M-Madara-kun…." Shiko's face turned red.

There was a glint in his eye. "Yes?" he murmured a reply, his eyes glinting with an emotion that she did not recognize.

Still being gentle, he squeezed her backside firmly, and then proceeded to suck lightly on Shiko's earlobe.

"What are you doing?" she asked, shivering. Though she'd never admit it, she felt slightly uncomfortable with his advances.

She loved him deeply, but this kind of touch was new. Even in the time before her spirit's sealing, they'd never 'done the deed'. Shiko wasn't sure if she wanted this to happen yet.

"…Does it bother you?" he purred, his voice still smooth. It sounded almost...predatory. Like he wanted something very badly.

Which, he did.

Shiko was about to reply when a large explosion rattled their ears.

Madara pulled away from her, snarling. "Deidara," he hissed, extremely unhappy about having the moment interrupted. The blonde bomber would have hell to pay for this…

"I must take care of that," he said to Shiko, putting on his mask and reverting his voice back to Tobi's.

"Amaya-chan can explore around the base if she wants to," he chirped, before running off, leaving her alone in the cavernous hallway.

Shiko sighed. Now that she had joined the Akatsuki, her life was going to get a lot more complicated.

She had a lot to think about now, with many elements of her life being so uncertain….

Including Madara.

Especially Madara.

Mostly Madara.

**End of chapter 11**

(Second Author's note: Sorry about the long wait between updates, I've been kinda busy over the holidays….I just got back from a horseback riding camp (Yes, Its winter where I am, but I went anyway :P)…..um….I have a question for the reviewers to answer. Two, actually.

So….I know the story plot is mainly focused on Shiko and Madara. But, I want to add in a backround plot, centering on Yuri and her relationships. So basically… my first question is: Do you want her to have a love triangle with Deidara and Itachi? If you don't, could you please suggest some ideas for subplots centering around her?

My second question for the audience….

Should I have more flashbacks? I just realized I haven't done any for a while. Its not really important formesince _I already know_ everything that happened to them in the past, but you guys don't…so…should I do more flashbacks?

I shall give out free virtual cupcakes to everyone who answers the questions :D)


	12. Chapter 12

(Author's Note:

So it has been decided…there will be more flashbacks! I'm not sure if there will be any in this chapter (since I always write the author's note _before_ writing the chapter), but if there aren't, we'll have some in the next few chapters. Definitely.)

(Author's Note part 2 (which I wrote in the middle of writing this chapter): Yes. There is a flashback. :P)

**Chapter 12**

Uchiha Sheena was, at the moment, a happy person. So far, her day had been going reasonably well and she was planning to keep it that way, since good days were quite rare when you lived in an organization such as the Akatsuki.

Between explosions, broken furniture, hyperactive fools, and daily threats to be turned into a living puppet, it was surprising that anyone had a good day. _Ever._

It had started out normally- she'd wake up, roll over, and fall back asleep.

An hour later, Pein would send Hidan to wake her up (since everyone else who tried to wake her up almost died, and he was immortal).

After stabbing or maiming him in some way, she'd finally crawl out of bed and stalk to the kitchen, drinking the rest of the pot of coffee that Yuri made and eating the previous night's leftovers. It was her daily ritual.

Most of the day had been spent killing time, since she wasn't on a mission. It was rather enjoyable, minus the incident with Madara's explosion jutsu and having her sister popping her eardrums by yelling when she tried to explain the situation.

It had _almost _made this day a bad one. Almost.

But, everything had been peaceful since she left Shiko's cell, and Shiko had apparently made up with him. This meant that her sister's catfight with Madara was over. Finally.

At the current moment, Sheena was sitting on her bed, doodling pictures in her journal.

They mainly consisted of animals and trees, but there was also an interesting amount that showed a man in a swirly orange mask getting violently murdered...

It was a happy place for her.

Until she heard the loud explosion which, unbeknownst to her, had also disrupted Madara's little 'moment' with Shiko.

The sudden distracting noise made her twitch, and in doing so, she messed up her current drawing of Tobi being dismembered, by a sudden jagged line crisscrossing through the paper.

Damn.

So Madara wasn't the only one Deidara had to look out for now...

Because Sheena wasn't too happy about having her lovely picture being destroyed. It made her angry. Quite angry.

But, she decided not to snap Deidara's neck, since Pein and Madara would not approve of the death of one of their members. Well... maybe _Madara_ would in this situation... but she still couldn't anger Pein.

And she should have more self-control. After all, this wasn't the first time she'd met someone irritating...

Sheena laughed quietly to herself as her thoughts ran back to the first time she had met Madara...

***FLASHBACK TIME (Author: You all missed it, didn't you? :P)***

It was many years ago, when she was still a young girl-

Fourteen years of age, orphaned, a medic in training, and quite irritable. That pretty much summed up her being.

She was very unhappy with her life- Sheena was very aggressive, and she had wanted to become a soldier, and help fight off the other clans. But women weren't allowed to fight.

So, she resigned to becoming a medic instead. At least when she became fully-fledged, she would be on a battlefield. Healing soldiers instead of being in battle, yes, but if the time came where her patients were in danger, she would get the chance to actually fight.

So it wasn't a total loss that she couldn't become a clan soldier. But it still was extremely infuriating to know that she had been denied the position because of being a girl.

At the current moment, she was packing up a few medical supplies. There had been a particularly brutal battle somewhere, with the Senju clan. From what the intel said, it sounded like help was sorely needed.

And so she would go.

Sheena lived in a small home with three other women- Myna, a kind-hearted lady who liked animals, June, a rambunctious 13-year-old who got into trouble a lot, and Kei, a quiet woman, about 19, who was very quiet and could most often be seen cooking or stitching something.

Right now, June was the only one at home other than Sheena. She was watching her pack, looking at the different medical supplies with fascination.

"What's that one do?" she asked, pointed to a short, thin, metal blade.

Sheena's attention shifted. "That's a small scalpel. It's normally used for minor surgeries, but I use it when there is a poisoned wound- I make a small cut into the skin so that the poison or venom can be removed more easily."

June's face scrunched up in disgust. "Eww… you actually _do _that?" she asked, the look on her face clearly showing disbelief.

Sheena laughed. "Yeah, it's pretty gross the first time you do it, but if you're a medic like me, you'll get used to it over time. Of course… not everyone can do it. Some people are just too damn chicken. Are _you _a chicken?"

June's head rapidly shook no. "I'm not a chicken! I just… don't like gore. Or blood. Except when it's someone I want to kill… then I don't mind it."

Sheena shook her head and smiled. "Right… I'm almost done packing so give me the scalpel back."

June nodded and handed the shiny piece of metal over to Sheena, who tucked it safely into one of the compartments in her medical supply kit.

She was about to gather her bag of healing herbs when there was a loud knock on the door.

June jumped up, excited. "OoH! I wanna get it I wanna get it I wanna get it!" she yelled as she ran out of the room and down the hallway, going to get the door.

Sheena sighed. Although she cared for June, she could be quite annoying at times…

She heard the door open, and then a gasp of shock, followed by the voice of June and some male voice she didn't recognize.

Thinking that it was one of June's many boyfriends, Sheena stopped paying attention and instead kept packing her things. She had more important things to think about than June's various misadventures in the area of romance.

A mistake.

A moment later, a sudden voice startled her.

"So you did not think it important enough to answer to the son of the clan leader?"

Sheena had jumped, and was now holding a kunai pointed in the direction where the voice had come from.

"_And _pointing weapons unprovoked. You could get in some serious trouble for that, you know," drawled the same voice.

"Uchiha…Madara?" Sheena had heard of him. The son of the clan leader, he apparently was a child prodigy, with a younger brother who was also exceptional but outshined by him. He had an older brother too, but had already outshined him as well.

Sheena had also heard that he'd been sent on some infiltration mission, although she didn't know the details.

Having never met the boy in person before, Sheena did not know what to expect.

"It's Madara-_sama_, brat," he growled, making Sheena silently hiss.

After emerging from the shadows, Sheena could finally get a good look at him.

With shoulder-length hair, onyx eyes, and a very muscular body for a fourteen-year-old, he definitely was attractive. But Sheena didn't care. She already didn't like him. She had a feeling that they wouldn't get along. He seemed like a jerk.

"Is there something you need….Madara-sama?" she asked, the suffix being forced through her gritted teeth.

Madara, sensing her irritation, smirked.

"Not really… I just thought you'd appreciate hearing the news," he replied. That drew Sheena's attention.

"News?"

Madara nodded. "Yes…I've found your sister."

Sheena blinked, feeling shell-shocked. "My…sister? She's dead. She died when I was five…" she was feeling angry at Madara for bringing this up. **What the hell was his problem?!**

Though Sheena hadn't known her sister for very long, they had shared a very deep bond. Sisterly love.

Though neither was really the type for soft things, they had loved each other. But…then her sister had been killed…

Madara sighed, an annoyed expression on his face.

"She isn't dead. She's with the Senju clan. I _saw _her. Stayed with her for a while, actually. She's…interesting. She's the reason I came back. You know Shiko has a permanent sharingan. It doesn't bode well for the Senju clan to be in possession of it."

Sheena's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "…Shiko…."

"Are….are you….going to…go after her?" Sheena couldn't seem to speak in complete sentences.

"Yes. Not for a few months, however. She provides a crucial window into information on the Senju clan. That's something our clan sorely needs."

Sheena's eyes narrowed. She did not like the idea of leaving her sister with the Senju clan when there was a possibility she could leave and come back to the Uchiha. She hated it.

**Hated it.**

Madara sneered when he saw the expression on her face. "And you call yourself a medic? All shinobi, even medics, need to refrain from showing any type of emotion. It displays weakness and will get you killed on the battlefield."

Sheena growled, and Madara glared at her warningly.

"Now, now," he announced. "I really should get back to the Senju. I've got information to collect, fish to catch.." he hummed softly as he left, not even saying goodbye.

_Collect fish? What?_ Sheena thought.

"What a weirdo," she mumbled after he was gone. "An irritating weirdo."

Sheena sighed, finally finishing with packing her things. Thoughts of her sister invaded her mind, and she wondered if Madara was telling the truth when he said that she was alive.

Would he have reason to lie?

She didn't know.

***END OF FLASHBACK TIME***

Sheena sighed. Her hunch had been right about Madara- they'd never gotten along after that, and probably never would. Well good.

She wanted to keep it that way.

About eight minutes after the explosion, the high-pitched and whiny voice of Tobi could clearly be heard, yelling and squealing at a very pissed-off sounding Deidara.

Sheena smirked. It seemed Madara was good for something- there was no one, save her sister, who could stand Tobi. Being around Tobi was a horrible punishment.

And so, her current irritation with him decreased, and she stopped doodling images of him being murdered and instead drew pictures of a dragon.

For now, the day was still a good day.

Another loud-sounded explosion almost made her change her mind. But she was determined to have a good day.

"It's a good day, It's a good day," she repeated to herself, trying not to get angry. And it worked….

Sort of.

She changed her picture a little bit, feeling satisfied. Her dragon, which had been breathing a stream of fire, now instead held a flailing Deidara in its mouth, preparing to eat him.

She loved her cheerful drawings.

**End of Chapter 12**

(Second Author's Note: Got this chappie done very quickly since….I like writing when I have reviews. They make me so happy!

I know that there wasn't any Shiko or Madara in this chapter, but this was Sheena's flashback…so…yeah..

Oh, and for anyone who didn't get the hint, when Madara said "Fish to collect" he meant actual fish. Because he's a cat in the Senju clan…and cats like fish….. yeah, it doesn't really make sense to me anymore. .. It did at first, but now…..

Erm…..

I want to say thanks to everyone that gave suggestions and answered the questions. *gives out free cupcakes to Dina Sana, Warrior of Sangre, and OMG-EPIC-PERSON-NINJA* You guys are awesome :D

Erm….

I have a story that is a sort of spin-off to this one. It's called "The Importance of Names" and the main character is Kenna, the girl who Shiko is friends with in the first chapter of _this _story.

Shiko and Madara are in it too but they aren't the main characters anymore. The story takes places before the formation of the leaf village, and will have many references to "the Other Mask". It would mean a lot to me if you guys would read it…

Oh, one more thing.

Question of the day: If Madara and Shiko and the rest of the Akatsuki lived in modern day, what do you think their lives would be like? Like…jobs and such? I'm interested to see what you guys think. )


	13. Chapter 13

(Author's Note: I have some good news, and I have some bad news. Let's start with the bad news.

BAD NEWS: I regret to say...The Other Mask will not be continued. I have looked back upon some earlier chapters, and even some more current ones...they are far enough below my current writing level that I...I'm dis-satisfied with myself. For a while, I considered simply going back and editing the chapters to make them better, but... I don't think its worth it.

GOOD NEWS: I'm doing a rewrite of The Other Mask! Hopefully, it will be better than this one. And...I'm not deleteing this story. I'm going to keep it posted because it was my first real attempt at a fanfiction, and it holds a place in my heart. So...it will still be here, but not be continued. As for my rewrite...it's called "A World of Shattered Memories". I am planning for it not to be the only one.

You see...this goes back to my first idea for a Naruto fanfic, in 2010, before I discovered .

The main character was not Shiko- Shiko wasnt even an idea yet. Her name was Katie Uzumaki. I'm not going to go into details for her. Katie had an older sister- Yuri, who I wanted to be an akatsuki.

Now...Yuri...I wanted to have a figure of power sort of looming over her- kind of like Madara, but...friendlier. They'd eventually get along. This was where my first draft of Shiko came in. Over about 1-3 years (then to present) I changed and developed her into the Shiko you have seen in The Other Mask. But...The original fanfic I wanted to write still centered around Katie. By this point, I had developed Katie, Yuri, and Shiko to the point where I wouldn't be able to get enough of each character into one fanfic. For a while, I thought I would just write The Other Mask- and that satisfied me for a while. But I had changed Yuri's character too much, and even took out Katie all together. Even Shiko was quite different from what I had originally planned.

And so, a few months ago, I had an idea. I thought about it for a while and...well...this is what I'm going to do. A new set of stories. They will be called..."A World of Shattered Memories".

"A World of Shattered Memories" is going to be a trilogy. This trilogy is going to follow the life of Shiko, Yuri, and Katie (whose name I have changed to Kazumi) in seperate, but linked stories. So I'll have the original character ideas, for the most part, and the entire stories for each.

I have already started on "A World of Shattered Memories- Shiko", and it will be posted soon. And, quite possibly, you'll be able to see "A World of Shattered Memories- Yuri" and "A World of Shattered Memories- Kazumi" soon.

It is my greatest dream on fanfiction yet, and I hope it will work out.

Until then, I bid you all my best wishes. Thankyou for sticking with me this far.

Farewell.

-redpetal888)

...I decided to give you guys a sneak-peek at "A World of Shattered Memories- Shiko". It starts with a flashback...

_"And all she ever wanted was to live in peace... poor girl, she never had the chance..."_

_"You knew her?"_

_"Of course I did. I'm Madara's br-...yes, I knew her."_

_"You sound as if there's something wrong."_

_"...Yes, I suppose there is something wrong..."_

(Second Author's Note:

It's short, because...there's not a lot of good spaces to cut from the chapter for a sneak peak. It's...I know it's a pretty bad sneak-peak.

But...by now...The first chapter of "A World of Shattered Memories-Shiko" should be up. Please read it...please?)


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